France says police killer shot live video of attack

Two French officials say a man with a past "terrorist" conviction shot video during a lethal knife attack on two police officials.

One of the officials said the assailant posted the video on Facebook Live, the social media site's live feed. His account has been suspended.

A man who claimed allegiance to ISIS stabbed a senior French police officer to death on Monday night before he was killed in a dramatic police operation, officials have said.

The unidentified attacker killed the officer before taking his partner and their son hostage in their home in Magnanville, near Paris.

He was shot dead by members of an elite police unit after negotiations failed. The partner was found dead but the child was rescued.

French government spokesman Le Foll says the killing of policeman and his companion is being considered "terrorist attack."

A news agency linked to ISIS said the attack had been carried out by an “ISIS fighter”, days after posting a similar claim following the massacre at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.

French prosecutors have launched an anti-terror probe. Neither of the victims was named, but the slain policeman was known to be 42 years old and worked in nearby Les Mureaux. His partner was also a local police official.

Witnesses told investigators the man may have shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) as he stabbed the policeman repeatedly outside his home before holing up inside with the woman and the couple’s three-year-old son.

Loud detonations were heard at the scene as elite RAID police moved in following failed negotiations with the attacker, who claimed allegiance to ISIS while talking to officers, sources close to the inquiry told AFP.

“The anti-terror department of the Paris prosecution service is taking into account at this stage the mode of operation, the target and the comments made during negotiations with the RAID,” one source said.

The SITE Intelligence Group, a US-based monitor, cited the ISIS-linked Amaq News Agency as saying on its Telegram channels: “ISIS fighter kills deputy chief of the police station in the city of Les Mureaux and his wife with blade weapons near #Paris.